Rising Rates Continue to Sideline Borrowers

Rising Rates Continue to Sideline Borrowers

Increased mortgage rates continued to damp down both purchase and refinance activity during the week ended August 11. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior week and declined by 2 percent before seasonal adjustment.   The Refinance Index fell 2 percent and was 35 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 28.6 percent of total applications from 28.7 percent week-over-week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was unchanged from the prior week and slid 2 percent on an unadjusted basis. Purchases were 26 percent lower than during the same week in 2022. [purchas